There are strong links between the British stage and Japan. Thelma Holt is a producer with a particularly fruitful relationship with Japanese directors and actors, while David Lan, Artistic Director of the Young Vic, scheduled Red Demon, a Japanese play, as part of the current Young Vic season.

Now, Yukio Ninagawa, who first visited the National with his celebrated productions of Macbeth and Medea in 1987, returning with Suicide for Love in 1989, is to bring his production of Shakespeare's Pericles to the Olivier Theatre at the National for a ten-performance run, March 28-April 5. Ninagawa was awarded an honorary CBE in 2002, and will bring his theatre company with him to the National.

Pericles is translated by Kazuko Matsuoka, directed by Yukio Ninagawa, with a cast that includes cast Masaaki Uchino, Yuko Tanaka, Kayoko Shiraishi, Tetsuro Sagawa and Masachika Ichimura. The designer is Tsukasa Nakagoshi, with costumes by Lily Komine, lighting by Tamotsu Harada and sound by Masahiro Inoue. The production is presented by Thelma Holt Ltd. in association with Horipro Inc. and Saitama Arts Centre.

A magical tale of shipwrecks and searches and a succession of adventures reminiscent, in a way, of Homer's The Odyssey, Pericles is a relatively rarely performed Shakespeare play. This production is in Japanese with English surtitles. A full plot synopsis will also be available.